In October 2010, Yao Jiaxin, a 21-year-old piano student at the Xi’an Conservatory of Music, knocked down a peasant woman with his car and fractured her leg. Because he didn’t want to be “pestered” by a peasant, he stabbed her to death with a foot-long knife he happened to be carrying and injured two other people while fleeing the scene.

Under Chinese law, murder with intent usually translates into capital punishment, but it seems that Yao’s family’s upper-class status might buy him a much lighter sentence, such as a 10-year prison term. Understandably, a lot of people, including the murder victim’s family, are outraged about this. According to China.org, the victim’s family is demanding 540,000 yuan ($81,724) in compensation in the event that Yao escapes the death penalty.

I’m all about oppressing peasants, but I really don’t see a way out of this, considering the dude wasn’t drunk or in the final stage of syphilis. But then again, the court, after holding a trial on March 23, 2011, decided to take additional time to come up with a verdict. I’m curious to find out what kind of bullshit they can spin.